Sweetwater school district, union come to agreement

CHULA VISTA  A tentative contract agreement that will help close the district’s $25.4 million budget deficit was reached last week ﻿between the Sweetwater Union High School District and the Sweetwater Education Association.

The one-year agreement calls for shortening the school year for teachers by up to five instructional days and one professional development day. The agreement maintains the current staffing allocation of 31 students to one teacher.

Board President John McCann said he was thankful for the collaboration with the teacher’s union leadership.

“This agreement allows us to balance our budget without teacher layoffs and still maintain one of the lowest class sizes in the county.” he said.

Roberto Rodriguez, the union’s bargaining team chairman, said the agreement is a fair way for teachers to contribute to any potential budget deficit that may materialize once the state budget is settled.

“We remain hopeful that if the Legislature does its job, no budget cut days will be necessary in the upcoming school year,” he said. “Our restoration language addresses that scenario.”

Both sides agreed to a formula that will restore lost instruction days based on school funding in the state budget known as ADA, or Average Daily Attendance. The shortening of the year is predicated upon a projected worst case budget scenario.

The teacher’s settlement, and other cost saving measures involving teachers, will save the district $8 million. In addition to the teacher’s agreement, the district is using the remaining $9 million in education jobs funding, $3.1 million in savings from an early retirement incentive and $1.87 million in budget reductions, approved by the school board in April.

The remaining $3.43 million needed will come from contract negotiations still taking place with other district employee groups.

The District also approved a one-year agreement with the Sweetwater Counseling and Guidance Association to increase the counseling ratio from 367-to-one to 400-to-one.